The National Assembly's Finance and Economic Planning Committee held a plenary session on Thursday and approved the confirmation hearing report on Hyun Song Shin, the nominee for Bank of Korea (BOK) governor. Although moral issues were raised, including the case of his eldest daughter's illegal reissuance of a passport, the committee judged that further delay in selecting a successor could not be tolerated given the grave external economic environment.
Before the confirmation hearing began, Shin was widely expected to clear the process without difficulty. He previously served as economic adviser and head of the monetary and economic department at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often referred to as the "central bank of central banks," and had held professorships at Oxford University in the United Kingdom and Princeton University in the United States. He is recognized for the reputation he built in overseas academia and international organizations, along with outstanding expertise in macroeconomics and monetary policy.
In the nomination request statement, President Lee Jae-myung said Shin "possesses exceptional insight into domestic and international financial and economic conditions, a comprehensive understanding of monetary policy and overall macroeconomic policy, and an outstanding international perspective." He added that Shin is "the right person to promote the sound development of the national economy through price stability and financial stability."
However, the adoption of the confirmation report on Shin had been blocked twice before. It emerged that Shin's eldest daughter, identified as A, who holds British citizenship, had illegally reissued a Korean passport and presented it during immigration inspections. In addition, Shin used A's former resident registration number to register her as Korean and reported her move-in to an apartment he owns in Seoul's Gangnam District.
Nonetheless, the Finance and Economic Committee agreed not to further delay the adoption of the confirmation hearing report in order to minimize any gap in monetary policy and stabilize economic order. Committee Chair Lim Yi-ja said, "The criticisms raised against him are worth listening to for verifying the moral standards of a central bank governor," but added, "Given the gravity of the economic situation, there must be no vacancy in the position of Bank of Korea governor."
Rep. Cheon Ha-ram of the Reform Party, who had intensively raised questions about Shin, said, "If the matter was serious enough to delay the confirmation report twice, there should have been an apology or expression of regret from the nominee or the Bank of Korea." He demanded that the fact of his eldest daughter's Korean passport reissuance be additionally included in the committee's comprehensive opinion.
